The invention relates to a drip irrigation hose of the general type described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,051 which issued Jan. 27, 1981 to the present inventor. The disclosure of this patent is incorporated fully herein by reference.
As described in the patent, crop irrigation systems are well known and have been in agricultural use since early history. Current irrigation systems include field flooding, furrow flooding, and sprinkler. These prior art systems, however, tend to waste water, and they also tend to wash away nutrients, to compact the soil, and to aid in the growth of weeds. Also, these prior art systems for the most part require considerable labor in their operation, and they also tend to supply water to the irrigated crops at undesirable rates.
In order to reduce the problems inherent in the prior art systems discussed in the previous paragraph, various types of drip irrigation systems have come into widespread use. Unlike the systems described above which distribute excess water over wide areas, drip irrigation systems supply water at a slow, controlled rate to the root zone of the particular plants being irrigated. Typically, the foregoing is accomplished by providing a low volume water outlet at each plant which permits a limited dripping or flowing of water directly to the root zone of the particular plant. Since evaporation, runoff, overwatering, and watering beyond the root zone is eliminated, substantial water and nutrient savings are realized.
There are two major types of drip irrigation systems in present-day general use. One involves the use of fittings, or emitters, which are designed with restricting passages through which water must pass to an outlet. Such emitters, however, are relatively costly. Another type utilizes a continuous hose. The invention described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,051 is concerned with the continuous hose type of drip irrigation system.